President/Chancellors

The Board of Trustees at Waubonsee Community College has unanimously selected Dr. Brian Knetl to be their next president. He will be joining Waubonsee Community College in the coming weeks. Dr. Knetl currently serves as Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs at Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prior to Grand Rapids, he was Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Dean of Liberal Arts at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. Dr. Knetl earned a doctorate in Education from Loyola University, Chicago, master’s degree from Texas State University, and bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s University. He was a 2018-2019 Aspen Presidential Fellow for Community College Leadership. Read more here.

The Board of Regents has selected outgoing New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas as Northern New Mexico College’s next president. Mr. Balderas served two terms as Attorney General of New Mexico, and previously served as a State Auditor, Special Prosecutor, and State Representative (District 68) in the New Mexico State Legislature.

The Missouri Valley College Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Dr. Joseph Parisi as the 14th President of MVC. Dr. Parisi will begin his transition duties as President Elect beginning in January 2023 and will assume the office of the presidency following the retirement of Dr. Bonnie Humphrey on June 30, 2023. Dr. Parisi is an MVC alum who currently serves as the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Athletics at Central Methodist University.  Prior to his tenure at Central Methodist, Dr. Parisi served in various admissions and enrollment management capacities, including Vice President for Enrollment Management at Lindenwood University. He holds an Ed.D. in Instructional Leadership and an MS in Business Administration, Nonprofit Administration from Lindenwood University, and a BS in Nonprofit Administration from Missouri Valley College. Read more here.

The California State University Board of Trustees has appointed Cynthia Teniente-Matson to serve as the next president of San José State University, effective January 16th, 2023. Dr. Teniente-Matson is currently serving as the President of Texas A&M - San Antonio. Her appointment as president of SJSU marks a return to the CSU for Teniente-Matson who previously served as vice president for administration and chief financial officer for California State University, Fresno from 2004 to 2015. Dr. Teniente-Matson earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an MBA from the University of Alaska Anchorage and is a product of the CSU having earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Fresno State. Read more here. 

Princeton Theological Seminary has appointed Rev. Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton as its eighth President. Dr. Walton comes to Princeton Seminary from Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he has served as the dean since 2019 and holds the Presidential Chair in Religion and Society. Prior to joining Wake Forest University, he served on the faculty at Harvard Divinity School and was the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church of Harvard University. Dr. Walton is trained as a social ethicist whose scholarship focuses on the intersection of evangelical Christianity, mass media, and political culture. He is the author of two books and has published widely across various academic journals, books, magazines, and newspapers. His insights have been featured in the New York Times, CNN, Time Magazine, and PBS. Dr. Walton earned his PhD in 2006 and his MDiv in 2002 from Princeton Seminary, and his bachelor’s degree in political science from Morehouse College in 1996. He is an ordained Baptist minister and a gifted preacher who has continued to serve both his alma maters. He is a member of the Humanities Advancement Council at Morehouse College and has served on the Board of Trustees at Princeton Seminary. Read more here.

Spring Hill College has selected Mary H. Van Brunt, PhD, as its 39th President. As the College prepares to celebrate its 200-year legacy, Dr. Van Brunt makes history as the first woman to serve as president of the college.

Texas State University System has appointed Sidney E. Valentine, Ph.D., as president of Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont. He will assume office August 16. Since 2015, Dr. Valentine has served as chief academic and student services officer at South Florida State College, where he provided academic leadership for the college’s transfer, vocational, technical, adult and community education, and workforce education programs. He also supervised the college’s applied research activities, grants, and institutional effectiveness efforts. Previously, Dr. Valentine served as associate vice president of industrial and engineering technology at York Technical College (SC) and as director of workforce and economic development at the West Virginia Community and Technical College System. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from The University of South Carolina and his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from West Virginia University Institute of Technology. Read more here.

Huston-Tillotson University announced that Melva K. Williams, Ph.D. has been appointed as the institution’s seventh President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 15, 2022.  Dr. Williams has held numerous positions within the Southern University System (LA), including Executive Associate to the Chancellor, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at SU-Shreveport, Vice Chancellor at SU-New Orleans, and System Chief of Staff.  A former associate dean of College at Centenary College of Louisiana, Williams has concurrently served as a professor, lecturer and board member at several colleges and universities. She earned a doctorate in higher education from Jackson State University (MS) and a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Grambling State University (LA). Read more here.

The Albizu University Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Dr. Nelson Edward Soto as the university’s sixth president. Dr. Soto came to Albizu University from Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served as the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. Dr. Soto has served as faculty at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis in the School of Education; Indiana University, College of Arts and Sciences; the University of Missouri-Columbia, College of Education; and the University of Cincinnati, University College. He has received multiple grants for his research. Read more here.

The International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) has appointed Dr. Linda Kligman as its next President. Dr. Kligman joined the IIRP in 2010 and currently serves as Interim President. Previously she served as Vice President for Administration and Vice President for Advancement. Prior to the IIPR, she was the Executive Director of Jenkintown Community Alliance and Director of Educational Programs at The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University. Dr. Kligman earned a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Union Institute and University, an M.S. in Restorative Practices and a B.S. in both Appropriate Technology and Civil Engineering from Drexel University.